Intermittent drive



Oct. 27, 1964 R. KRANE ETAL INTERMITTENT DRIVE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 16, 1961 /N 1 5 N TORS I ATTORNEYS.

Oct. 27, 1964 Y R. KRANE ETAL 3,153,937

INTERMITTENT DRIVE Filed Jan. 16, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 l INVENTORS BY W A7'7URNEVS.

United States Patent 3,153,937 INTEBMITTENT DRIVE Robert Krane and Robert F. McVicker, Anderson, Ind.,

assignors to Lynch Corporation, Anderson, 11111., a corporation of Indiana Filed Jan. 16, 1961, Ser. No. 83,971 7 Claims. (Cl. 74130) This invention relates to an intermittent drive particularly adaptable for butter and oleomargarine printing machines of the type shown in the Coon et al. Patent No. 2,592,793.

One object of the invention is to provide an effective intermittent drive of infinitely variable type whereby the cyclic rotation of material feeding augers may be nicely controlled so that just the right amount of product is fed by the augers to the butter printing mechanism of the machine each cycle of operation thereof. Such product varies in viscosity from batch to batch, and sometimes during the printing and packaging of a single batch depending on temperature changes and other factors. It is therefore desirable to have a readily adjustable feed means that can be changed While the machine is in operation.

Another object therefore, is to provide a one-way clutch drive for an auger drive shaft, combined with cam and roller means for imparting oscillations to the one-way clutch from a lever, and means to adjust the pivot point of the lever to vary its effective length and thereby vary the length of the oscillating stroke for the one-way clutch.

Still another object is to provide a pivot rod extending through a slot of the lever, an adjusting pinion rotatable on the rod and coacting with a rack of the lever whereby rotation of the pinion changes the distance between the pivot of the lever and a pivot pin carried thereby that is operatively connected to a rack which in turn meshes with a pinion of the one-way clutch, the design being such that an adjustment may be made while the intermittent drive is in operation.

A further object is to provide means for clamping the pinion in adjusted position to retain the adjustment once it is made.

With these and other objects in view, our invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the van'ous parts of our intermittent drive, whereby the objects above contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in our claims and illustrated in detail on the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the augers of a machine of the kind disclosed in the above mentioned Coon et al. patent and showing a portion of our intermittent drive associated therewith.

FIG. 2 is an end elevation looking at FIG. 1 from the right hand end thereof.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view on the line 44 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 5-5 of FIG. 3.

On the accompanying drawings we have used the reference numeral it to indicate a gear housing and 12 an upward extension thereof. A gear housing cover is shown at 14 in FIGS. 1 and 3.

The gear housing 1%) has adjacent thereto an auger housing 16 as shown in FIG. 1 which terminates in nozzles 17 leading to butter printing dies as disclosed in the Coon et al. patent. Within the auger housing 16 is a pair of augers 18 operatively associated with auger drive shafts 22 by means of connectors 29. The shafts 22 are journaled in bearings 26 of the housing It). Gears 24 cause simultaneous rotation of the angers in opposite directions. A stationary cross member 31 is provided with bearings Fat-enter! Get. 27, 1964 28 and 3d. The bearing 28 journals the lower shaft 22 in PEG. 1 while the bearing Sil journals an auger drive extension shaft 32 (see also FIG. 3 wherein the parts are reversed relative to FIG. 1).

A pinion 34 is rotatable on the shaft 32 and a rack 36 meshes therewith. As shown in F16. 5 the pinion 34 has therein one-way rollers 38 coacting with cam surfaces 49 whereby the elements 34 and 33 constitute a one-way clutch.

A rack slideway 42 slidably carries the rack 35 and has a hub 44 journaled on the shaft 32. A collar 43 on the shaft 32 retains the hub 44 and the pinion 34 in position on the shaft adjacent the bearing 39. The rack 36 has a shank 46 threaded into a pivot fitting 43 for adjustment purposes, and a lock nut 55 is provided to retain the adjustment. At 52 a rack pivot is shown for pivotally connecting the pivot fitting 48 to a lever 54. The lever 54 has a slot 56 through which a lever pivot rod 58 extends.

A stationary frame structure is provided including a stationary horizontal plate so from which vertical plates 62 depend as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 to support the pivot rod 58. Bearings 64 and 68 are provided in the vertical plates 62, the bearing 6 being for an enlarged head 66 of the pivot rod 58 (as shown in FIG. 4) and the bearing 68 being for a sleeve 7% provided with sleeve bearings 72 and 76 for the pivot rod 53. A supporting bracket 74 is also provided for the sleeve 70 as shown in FIG. 3.

A hub 78 is secured to the sleeve 79 and terminates in an adjusting lever 8% extending laterally therefrom. The lever 80 as shown in FIG. 3 is outside the gear housing 10 whereas the inner end of the sleeve 70 is within the housing and provided with a pinion S2. The adjusting lever 89' is provided with an indicating needle 81 for cooperation with a dial S3 to indicate the degree and position of adjustment in an obvious manner. A lock nut 38 is also provided on a threaded outer end 86 of the rod 58.

The pinion S2 meshes with a rack 84 secured to the lever 54 whereby the rack may be adjusted relative to the pivot rod 58 by rotation of the lever 80 and thereby the pinion for lengthening or shortening the distance between the axes of the rack pivot 52 and the rod 58. The adjustment may then be retained by clamping together the sleeve 7%, the pinion 82, the lever 54 and a slide way 99 for the lever 54, all against each other by confinement between the head 66 and the lock nut 88.

For oscillating the lever 54 and thereby reciprocating the rack 36 we provide an extension 92 (see FIG. 4) on the slideway 99 carrying a cam roller 94. A cam roller spring 95 (FIG. 2) tends to rotate the lever 54 clockwise about the rod 58 and thereby urge the cam roller 94 into contact with a cam 96 on a cam shaft 98. The spring 95 is mounted on a guide rod 97 having its lower end pivoted to the slideway 90 and its upper end extending loosely through a stationary car 99.

For rotating the cam shaft 98 a gear is mounted thereon and meshes with a pinion 1%2 on a shaft 104. The shaft 104 is driven by a chain 106 from a motor driven shaft 1E8, the motor therefor being shown at 110.

Practical Operation In the operation of our intermittent drive, rotation of the shaft 1&8 results in rotation of the cam shaft 98 through the elements 1%, 162 and 159 in an obvious manner. Accordingly the cam 96 is rotated and will impart oscillations to the slideway 9d and the lever 54 carried thereby, thus reciprocating the rack 36 in its slideway 42 and oscillating the one-way pinion 34. The one-way clutch of FIG. 5 is thereupon operated to rotate the shaft 32 counter-clockwise (arrow A) in FIG.

2 each downward movement of the rack 36, and rotate clockwise without imparting rotation to the shaft 32 each upward movement of the rack. The augers 18 are thereby driven, one counter-clockwise and the other clockwise, as indicated by arrows A and B in FIG. 1.

At any time, whether the machine is in operation or not, the adjusting lever 80 can be rotated clockwise in FIG. 2 for shortening the distance between the axes 52 and 58, or counter-clockwise for lengthening this distance, thus increasing or decreasing respectively the arc of oscillation of the one-way pinion 34. Of course the lock nut 88 is first loosened before such adjustment, and then after the adjustment is made is again tightened for clamping together all parts involved in the adjustment.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the parts of our intermittent drive without departing from the real spirit and purpose of our invention, and it is our intention to cover by our claims any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may reasonably be included within their scope.

We claim as our invention:

1. In an intermittent drive, a constantly rotating shaft and a second shaft to be driven intermittently therefrom, and an operative connection between said rotating shaft and said second shaft comprising a lever, a rod constituting pivot means therefor, cam and roller means for oscillating said lever about said rod from said rotating shaft, a pinion on said second shaft and having a oneway connection therewith, means for oscillating said pinion comprising a rack meshing therewith and a pivotal connection between said rack and said lever, means for altering the distance between said pivot means and said pivotal connection comprising a sleeve surrounding said pivot rod, a second pinion thereon, a rack carried by said lever and meshing with said pinion, and means for locking the adjustment between said second pinion and said rack.

2. An intermittent drive comprising a rotating shaft, a second shaft to be driven intermittently therefrom, and an operative connection between said rotating shaft and said second shaft comprising a lever, pivot means therefor, means for oscillating said'lever about said pivot means from said rotating shaft, a pinion rotatable on said second shaft, means for oscillating said pinion comprising a rack meshing therewith, a pivotal connection between said rack and said lever, a one-way connection from said pinion to said second shaft and means for shortening or lengthening the distance between said pivot means and said pivotal connection comprising a second pinion rotatable about said pivot means, a rack carried by said lever and meshing therewith, and means for rotating said second pinion,

3. In a drive for product feeding augers and the like, a continuously rotating shaft, a second shaft to be driven intermittently therefrom, and an operative connection between said rotating shaft'and said second shaft comprising a lever, a pivot rod therefor, means for oscillating said lever about said pivot means from said rotating shaft, a connection between said lever and said second shaft for rotating the shaft simultaneously with the movement of said lever in' one direction, said lever being movable in the opposite direction independent of the shaft, and means for altering the distance between said pivot rod and said connection comprising a sleeve surrounding said pivot rod, a pinion thereon, a rack carried by said lever and meshing with said pinion, and means for locking the adjustment of said pinion relative to said rack.

4. In a drive of the character disclosed, a rotating shaft, a second shaft to be driven intermittently therefrom, and an operative connection between said rotating shaft and said second shaft comprising a lever, a rod providing it-o 4. pivot means therefor, said rod having a head at one end and its other end being threaded, means for oscillating said lever about said rod from said rotating shaft, a pinion rotatable on said second shaft, a one-way operative connection between said pinion and said second shaft, means for oscillating said pinion, said means being pivotally connected to said lever, and means for altering the distance between said pivot means and said pivotal connection comprising a sleeve surrounding said pivot rod, a pinion thereon, a rack carried by said lever and meshing therewith, a slideway for said lever pivotally mounted on said adjusting rod, a roller carriedthereby, a cam on said rotating shaft and operatively coacting with said cam, said sleeve, said lever and said slideway being interposed between said head and the threaded end of said pivot rod, and-an adjusting lock nut on said threaded end for clamping said sleeve, lever and slideway together to retain the adjustment.

5. In an intermittent drive, a rotating shaft, a second shaft to be driven intermittently therefrom, an operative connection between said rotating shaft and said second shaft comprising a lever, pivot means therefor, means for oscillating said lever about said pivot means from said rotating shaft, an operative connection from said lever to said second shaft operable to rotate the shaft from the lever as the lever moves in one direction and the lever being movable in the opposite direction without imparting rotation to the shaft, and means for altering the distance between said pivot means and said connection comprising an oscillatable member, a pinion thereon, a rack carried by said lever and meshing with said pinion, and means for locking the adjustment.

6. In an intermittent drive, a rotating shaft, a second shaft to be driven intermittently therefrom, an operative connection between said rotating shaft and said second shaft comprising a lever, pivot means therefor, means for oscillating said lever about said pivot means from said rotating shaft, an operative connection between said second shaft and said lever wherein movement of the lever in one direction rotates the shaft and movement of the lever in the opposite direction is independent of the shaft, and means for altering the distance between said pivot means and said connection comprising an oscillatable member, a pinion thereon, a rack carried by said lever and meshing with 'said pinion, and means for rocking said pinion against rotation relative to said oscillatable member.

7. In an intermittent drive, a rotating shaft, a second shaft to be driven intermittently therefrom, an operative connection between said rotating shaft and said second shaft comprising a lever, pivot means therefor, means for oscillating said lever about said pivot means from said rotating shaft, a connection between said second shaft and said lever which is operative one way only, and means for altering the distance between said pivot means and said connection comprising an oscillatable member, a pinion thereon, a'rack carried by said lever and meshing with said pinion, and a pivotally mounted slideway for said lever,said oscillatable member and said pinion being rotatable about the pivotal mounting for said slideway.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,049,321 Bader Dec. 31, 1912 1,336,108 Trosch Apr. 6, 1920 1,867,688 Van Hook July 19, 1932 2,271,795 Demarest et al Feb. 3, 1942 2,823,550 Woldenga Feb. 18, 1958 2,970,489 Eason Feb. 7, 1961 2,997,888 Rust Aug. 29, 1961 

1. IN AN INTERMITTENT DRIVE, A CONSTANTLY ROTATING SHAFT AND A SECOND SHAFT TO BE DRIVEN INTERMITTENTLY THEREFROM, AND AN OPERATIVE CONNECTION BETWEEN SAID ROTATING SHAFT AND SAID SECOND SHAFT COMPRISING A LEVER, A ROD CONSTITUTING PIVOT MEANS THEREFOR, CAM AND ROLLER MEANS FOR OSCILLATING SAID LEVER ABOUT SAID ROD FROM SAID ROTATING SHAFT, A PINION ON SAID SECOND SHAFT AND HAVING A ONEWAY CONNECTION THEREWITH, MEANS FOR OSCILLATING SAID PINION 